The story of true love, and a pre-worshipped W124

This is a discussion on The story of true love, and a pre-worshipped W124 within Test-Drives & Initial Ownership Reports, part of the Team-BHP Reviews category; congrats!!124 is really a enthusiasts car.the first to rule to own a MErcedes Benz is dont PANIC.nothing goes wrong with ...

congrats!!124 is really a enthusiasts car.the first to rule to own a MErcedes Benz is dont PANIC.nothing goes wrong with these cars.they can live forever provided it is well taken care of according to the owners manual.that is a periodic service every 10k kms at the dealership which doesnt cost tooo much money.
about your cluster light ,i think it has been dimmed by somebody.all you need to do is turn the mileage reset stick clockwise,that the only way all the lights on the cluster & dash gets dimmed & also looks like it doesnt work.
124 was sold by mercedes in India & there are a lot of skilled mechanics to work on them.just sit back in your gallery stare at the car & pat yourself for owning the best merc ever made

Quote:

Originally Posted by ayushagarwal26

Thanks for the positive replies I'm glad so many people understand and appreciate the timeless W124.

A problem I've been facing though (and I really need help) - The interior lighting (backlighting behind the switches, illumination for instrumentation and meters) suddenly stopped coming on a few days back (only the kind that comes on when you switch on the parkers / headlights). The rest of the electricals, warning lamps, cabin lights etc. work fine.

I checked the fuses and they're perfectly fine. Plus, the fuses for illumination are common with other functions like taillamps, radio antenna etc., which are all functional. So, it's not the fuse at fault.

Now, I am scared of the financial implications of visiting a true A.S.S. - and in no mood to sell a kidney. What could be wrong? Also, I need help from W124 enthusiasts or owners in south delhi - Where do I go with such a problem? If I'm going to keep this beauty well maintained, I need a skilled mechanic / workshop, preferably the kind who specializes in Mercedes Benz cars.

y.
about your cluster light ,i think it has been dimmed by somebody.all you need to do is turn the mileage reset stick clockwise,that the only way all the lights on the cluster & dash gets dimmed & also looks like it doesnt work.

Thanks so much! It was dimmed after all. I've been waiting for the sunlight to fade away all day so I can go check! So much for the sleepless nights

@Ayush: Congratulations on your choice of a car. The car is very well maintained but if you want to bring it back to better than pristine condition, get it detailed well. Sohail is in Delhi and can guide you. You'll be amazed by the transformation. Post the pictures when you get it done

Congratulations on your W124! The interiors looks pristine and do not show any signs of aging But the paint from your pics is showing its age and the car needs new MB alloys. Hope you do consider them when planning for any mods.

Love wins again. Against reason, logic, and a decent amount of advice and resistance from friends / family. "How do you think you'll maintain it?" / "What if something goes wrong?" / "It's a white elephant, for God's sake!"
I'll now shut up before I cry (and I just might. Of everyone in the world, the team-bhpians should know how this feels. I finally did it), and let the pictures do the talking.

I completely understand your emotions. Please go ahead and cry your heart out.
I too own a pre-worshipped silver 96 W124 E220. When I first informed my wife about my decision, she was shocked as usual and screamed "Why Mercedes?" I calmly replied "WHY NOT?" And then there was silence in the room and here I am with my beauty now. I still have couple of my friends asking me about why didn't I go for a newer car like Suzuki Dzire/SX4 or Honda City. How do I make them understand? I guess I have left it now. Only a true enthusiast can understand each other's feelings.
Coming back to the car, you have got an excellent well-maintained example. Please do take good care of her, service her regularly and enjoy her to the fullest. 140k is nothing. As I read somewhere on this forum itself, in Amsterdam W124s are used as taxis and they run it for like 1 million kms. In Indian conditions, if maintained well, she can easily run till 5 to 6 lakh kms.
Do you know what is the best sound that I like in my car? The THUD when we close the doors. When I showed this to one of my friends, he just kept on opening/closing the doors so that he could listen to the THUD again and again. He just fell in love with the sound just like me. How on earth did they manage to build this car with such build quality is something that keeps amusing me time and again. Even a bank's vault wouldn't generate the same THUD when closed.
OK, I am getting too emotional now and might as well stop before I cry out loud.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pk_del

Hi Ayush,

Congratulations on owning a legendary W124 MB.

I can understand how it feels to own a MB. When I was in school in US, my roomie went all the way from Tampa to Atlanta to get a 1984 Diesel MB. And it was fully loaded with 12 way power driver seats, and all the modern luxury which we dont even find in todays cars.

Congrats again on being a proud owner of MB.

-PK

Tell me about it. I know a friend who owns a 1991 W126 which has rain-sensing wipers. How many of the current generation cars we know have rain-sensing
wipers?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ayushagarwal26

Thanks! I'll consider it. Not many would agree, but for some reason, I find the regular 8 hole alloys very commonplace, whereas I really love the classic design on the wheel covers this car has. Maybe it's just because I grew up looking at it this way!

Thanks for the information! I know it can't be a bulb, as it's the entire backlighting behind the instrument cluster as well as all dash switches. I didn't know about any secondary fuses behind the instrument cluster - there's no such thing mentioned in the manual! Anyway, I'll have a look. If only I knew who to show it to. This weekend, I'll perhaps take her to Patel (where she's always been serviced) and see what they have to say.

I too have the same steel rims/wheel covers combo on my car too and having been looking at it from quite some time now, I would agree with you. Apart from
the regular 8 hole alloys, there's also another design in alloys which closely resembles the wheel covers. You might want to take a look at it. Because at
the end of the day, alloys are alloys when compared to steel rims and I would upgrade to it at some point in time.

I replied to your post on another thread as well. You might want to get in touch with Viraat13 who also owns a W124 E220 in Delhi. Had you been in Bangalore, I would had loved to help you with the service guy here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nandishpal

about your cluster light ,i think it has been dimmed by somebody.all you need to do is turn the mileage reset stick clockwise,that the only way all the lights on the cluster & dash gets dimmed & also looks like it doesnt work.

One word of caution here. Please don't trip the mileage when the car is in motion. I did the same and something broke inside. The instrument cluster is all analogue as compared to digital in newer cars. After all, its an old car.

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126 with rain sensing wipers?????please double check,they were introduced only in late 90's on the last few w140's.

about the trip meter,it was an advise to a fellow bhpian to increase the light on the cluster & not to reset the mileage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by floyd.bell

Tell me about it. I know a friend who owns a 1991 W126 which has rain-sensing wipers. How many of the current generation cars we know have rain-sensing
wipers?

One word of caution here. Please don't trip the mileage when the car is in motion. I did the same and something broke inside. The instrument cluster is all analogue as compared to digital in newer cars. After all, its an old car.

I too own a pre-worshipped silver 96 W124 E220. When I first informed my wife about my decision, she was shocked as usual and screamed "Why Mercedes?" I calmly replied "WHY NOT?" And then there was silence in the room and here I am with my beauty now. I still have couple of my friends asking me about why didn't I go for a newer car like Suzuki Dzire/SX4 or Honda City. How do I make them understand? I guess I have left it now. Only a true enthusiast can understand each other's feelings.

I can so relate to you at this point! I love that reaction, btw. "WHY NOT?" !!
I have a ton of friends who are completely aghast at this decision. There's actually one who thinks it defeats the purpose of my wanting to buy my own first car as I can't bring it to office every single day (fuel costs + traffic!) and I'd be better off with a hatchback. But then, what do they know

So Monday morning, I am called downstairs by the office guard - A dtc bus hit my parked 124. My office is right next to a dtc depot, and although I typically park in the compound parking lot or building driveway, on that unfortunate day I hadn't.

What we saw next was quite disheartening. A broken (smashed!) front bumper, right side indicator light, and some metal damage around it. No bus driver in sight. Sigh.

A call to Patel Auto was the last straw. Bumper assembly? 45k. Light? 9.5k. Assembly and installation labour? 10k. Paint and repair work? 15k upwards depending on the survey. Tax? 12.5%. My insurance? Third party only - after all, it is a 15 year old car. Needless to say, my heart sank. One corner damage with a light and bumper equals at least 80k in repairs? The pains of owning a Mercedes!!

Then came Palika Bhawan to my rescue. For those who don't know, Palika Bhawan market in Chanakyapuri is a one-stop shopping arcade for parts, labor and services for most cars - especially expensive cars / old luxury cars, and is full of experienced Mercedes mechanics from dubai. Some are even ex-A.S.S employees from popular Mercedes workshops who decided to go the business route.

A few calls, a few references, and finally I went down to Palika Bhawan. Sourced a new bumper, a new corner indicator light, and found the right experienced denter to start his magic. A known, respected paint guy, some original DuPont paint, and voila. Two days of supervision, and here's what we have.

What's surprising is the quality and finish of work. The denting, the smoothness, the paint color match, the rubbing and polishing, and all the little nitty gritties - touch ups, and all else - are, if I dare to say so, better than A.S.S work. I haven't gotten bodywork done before at a Mercedes workshop (thankfully, have had no accidents before this one), but every time I have had work done at a Maruti/Hyundai/Honda workshop, it has been much lower in quality and finish.

In fact, apart from the core damage repair, a lot of more pending work was done once the car was opened up. Major work done:

- Front bumper replaced
- Front right indicator light assembly replaced
- Denting and damage repair around the area
- Painting of bumper rails (the center insert on the bumper) matt black instead of the original light grey. Front and back.
- Full body rubbing, polish and wax
- Polishing of chrome bits and three pointed star hood ornament
- Touching up visible spots / scratches and OVRMS (the inside black color)
- New number plate (front)
- Interior drycleaning and polishing, complete
- Cleaning of internal areas, water channels, under the hood/boot, etc.
- Interior cleaning of headlights. Adds loads of character to the car (see before/after pics)

The car now looks spanking new. It's surprising that 15 year old paint can shine so much, and the contrast bumpers + clean white headlights and polished chrome make the car a delight to look at.

Now for the shock - Total damages? Approximately 16k. Yes, you heard that right
Quality of work? Personally supervised and more than satisfactory.

A big shout to Viraat13 (and his father, Mr. Arvind) for helping me source parts at brilliant prices, find the right guys to work on my car, introduce me to all the experienced mechanics I'll ever need, and giving me tons of useful knowledge about the car. Mr. Arvind is not only really passionate about his 124, but knows everything under the hood and keeps her like she's one year old at the very most. To be honest, his car gives me a complex!

Last edited by Vid6639 : 10th May 2012 at 12:19.
Reason: fixing the huge pictures to normal size for lower screen sizes. Thanks!

In India, one finds a lot of these great repair guys in these road side garages. Most of the guys have had little formal training and seem to have learned on the job,and boy, most of them seem to have learned well! What amazes me is the general quality of the paint work. Looking at some of the work, one wonders if the requirement of a paint booth is actually a myth!